As a home educating family, we are always on the lookout for educational tools that our children genuinely enjoy using. We recently discovered Busy Things, and after a quick look around the site, I was certain it would fit the bill. Busy Things supports the Early Years and Primary curriculum in England, Scotland, and Australia, helping children aged 3–11 learn while having fun!
This award-winning platform, available for Families, Schools, and Nurseries, features hundreds of engaging educational games and activities with bright graphics and fun, quirky characters. A Busy Things for Families subscription allows you to create profiles for up to five children, which can be customised to suit each child’s individual abilities. Plus, the robust parent tools give you full control over how the site is set up for your learners.

Why Busy Things Stands Out for Primary Home Learning
What makes Busy Things truly stand out is its commitment to the idea that laughter and fun are essential components of a great education. While the website is bursting with colour, quirky characters, and engaging animations—making it instantly appealing to kids—it is built on a foundation of rigorous, teacher-designed pedagogy.
With over 1,600 award-winning activities, it offers a vast breadth of curriculum-aligned content. It covers all the core subjects you’d expect—English, Maths, and Phonics—but also dives into a phenomenal range of others, including Science, Computing, History, Geography, Art, Music, and even French and Spanish languages. It truly is a comprehensive, one-stop online learning resource for primary learning.

Essential Customisation Features for Homeschooling
For a home educating parent, the control and customisation features are invaluable. The ability to create individual, customised profiles for up to five children under a single subscription is a huge benefit, especially in a multi-age household.
You simply input a child’s age, and the platform tailors the suggested content. This allows for effortless differentiation: if your six-year-old is excelling in maths but needs reinforcement in phonics, you can easily adjust their settings to prioritise the activities they need most. This individualised approach makes it one of the most effective homeschooling resources we’ve found.

The Power of Parent Tools: ‘Parent Things’
The parent tools section, or “Parent Things,” is where the site truly shines for home educators. No more guessing if the children are actually engaged—the ‘Timeline’ feature allows you to see exactly what activities your child has been working on and for how long.
Furthermore, the ‘Curriculum Browser’ is a home educator’s dream. If you are following a specific objective, such as “understanding fractions” or a particular phonics phase, you can search by Key Stage and subject to instantly find the relevant educational games and activities to solidify that learning.

Beyond the Core Curriculum
Beyond the primary curriculum, Busy Things keeps learning fresh and exciting. My children love checking the “New Releases” and “Top 40” buttons for inspiration, and the “Special Events” section ties learning to the real world by offering themed activities for everything from World Smile Day to the latest historical event.
Plus, for those moments when you need a break from screen time, the Printable Resource Maker lets you create custom, print-ready worksheets for phonics and maths—a brilliant tool for revision or just a quiet activity.

Final Verdict on Busy Things
Busy Things successfully transforms screen time from a passive activity into a truly engaged and active online learning experience. Used by thousands of schools, this platform offers the quality, depth, and sheer fun required to help children aged 3–11 not just learn, but actively love learning. It’s a vital homeschooling resource that earns its place in any home classroom.
Click here to try Busy Things free for 7 days!


